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Jisung leans on the wall of the open dance floor where people would gather to join the band in singing. This night's no different from other nights he spent watching Sungchan from a distance as he taps his fingers on his lap. He takes off the lollipop from his mouth but immediately puts it back when he sees Sungchan preparing for the performance.
It takes no minute for Sungchan to find Jisung. He knows where he is, he knows he's always there– standing meters away from him but watching him like a hawk. He smiles softly at Jisung and he finds the latter winking at him. What a flirt. Sungchan couldn't help but to throw his head back laughing when he witnesses Jisung having difficulty in winking.
Jisung notices and rolls his eyes. Although he can feel the shockwaves Sungchan transfers to him, of course, he wouldn't let Sungchan see how he's whipped for him. At least not now. Maybe after an hour or so.
Sungchan taps the microphone and starts playing a chord from his bass guitar. “Good evening.” Sungchan greets the moment he realizes they're all set. He looks back at his band mates and sees them ready for this night's performance.
“We are The Rookies. I am Sungchan, the vocalist.” he says and the crowd starts chanting his name in unison. Jisung can't help but to smile and be proud of how Sungchan reaches this peak. He's proud of him and no amount of words could explain how happy he is while watching Sungchan be surrounded by people who support him dearly.
“Here's Shohei, the bassist.” Sungchan says, Shohei plays a chord or two and the whole crowd starts screaming. Shohei winks and waves his hand. Jisung chuckles. Shohei looks like a total sweetheart in front of the crowd but in reality, he's a cold and stoic person who only talks when it's needed.
“A lot of Shohei fans, I see.” Sungchan tells and licks his bottom lip. He stops for a bit and looks at Shotaro. Taro nods at him and smiles. “Say hello to Shotaro, our drummer!” Shotaro kicks his drum and plays a little spoiler. Jisung knows because he was with them when the group finally made the last song for their upcoming album.
Again, the crowd yells. Sungchan laughs. “That's a little spoiler for later.” he hints. Jisung shakes his head, stupid. Why would he admit it's a spoiler?
“As you know, this band member took a hiatus because of personal matters but tonight, he's finally back for you! Let's all welcome Eunseok, our pianist!” Sungchan proudly introduces Eunseok. The crowd goes wilder for a lot of people join them tonight after hearing Eunseok came back from a break. Eunseok smiles and waves.
“You missed Eunseok, don't you?” Sungchan asks and they answer with a big yes. “And last but not the least.. our guitarist and the youngest Seunghan!” Seunghan raises his two hands and waves at the audience. They scream and scream his name.
“Before we play our set tonight, I would like to tell you that it is such a pleasure to play in this big bar so thank you so much Kun for the invitation!” Sungchan looks around and points at Kun when he finally sees him. Kun waves and nods at Sungchan.
Shotaro plays first. It was a familiar song, the one they often play last in their past gigs. Jisung could hear people's scoffs due to shock and disbelief. Jisung smirks and looks at Sungchan who's looking at him with raised eyebrows. He stares back and points at the people beside him using his thumb. He mouths, “Why?” Sungchan shrugs and makes a face which makes Jisung chuckle.
“I saw an angel….” Sungchan sings but Jisung's forehead forms a crease because he definitely changes the lyrics, from she to he. He can feel his heartbeat going wild as he hears Sungchan emphasize the word angel while staring at him.
“This loser won't stop messing with my brain, godammit” he whispers to himself.
Shohei plays a smooth chord for transition. From You're Beautiful to Need You Now.
Jisung reminisces the moment Sungchan told him the backstory of the song. The song was written 3 years ago, the year they met.
“You're beautiful.” Jisung said and faced Sungchan.
Sungchan blushed and looked at him with a smile. “Thank you.”
Jisung's mouth agape and realized something. Sungchan thought he complimented him when he was talking about the song. Jisung bursted out laughing with eyes closed because he couldn't believe what just happened.
Sungchan couldn't understand what's happening so he just stared at Jisung as he laughed. He doesn't know why but he also giggles with him. He asked himself if it's because he looks dumb or it is because he found Jisung mesmerizing as his nose scrunch due to so much laughter he can't contain. Either way, he's happy to hear his laugh.
Jisung calmed down and wiped the tears at the corner of his eyes. “I'm sorry for that… what I meant is your song, you're beautiful. What is the backstory?” Jisung asked.
Sungchan noticed Jisung's eyes fixated on him so he looked away. He could feel his heartbeats and his burning cheeks. He gulped and drank the remaining shot on his glass.
“It was about you…” Sungchan whispered. Jisung blinked and moved closer to Sungchan.
“Me? About me?” he asked. Sungchan nodded.
“It was the time I saw you at the subway with your friend, which I thought before your boyfriend. I thought it'll be a one time experience, you know… seeing your beauty and admiring it from afar.” Sungchan said.
Jisung giggled. “So after minutes of seeing me, you created a whole scenario in your mind.” Jisung concluded, he then sighed. “I couldn't help but to feel guilty, your song pains me whenever I think about it.”
Sungchan chuckled. He was about to pour vodka in his glass when Jisung grabbed it from him. “Stop.”
Sungchan pouted and put the glass away from him. He shrugged.
“Do you like me?” Jisung asked. He was facing Sungchan and looking at him with challenging eyes, he didn't dare to look away nor be shy about it. All he wanted was the truth and nothing else. It's not good to be left in the dark, you know?
Instead of answering, Sungchan grabbed the cassette beside him and opened the walkman. He inserted the earphones and put them inside Jisung's ears.
“And it's you and me, and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you..” Sungchan sang from the walkman as he strummed his fingers on his guitar.
Jisung removed the earphones from his ears. “Tell it.” he said..
Sungchan was astounded. “What?”
“Tell it directly to me. I want to hear it from you.”
“I like you, Jisung. I write songs for you. I sing songs while thinking of you. I don't just write lyrics, I bleed them for you.” Sungchan said and looked at Jisung who's looking at him with a soft pair of eyes.
Due to daydreaming, Jisung didn't notice the set list was almost finished. “Hey.” someone beside him greets him with a smile. He looks at that person and realizes it is Chenle, Shotaro's fling.
“Hey.” he greets.
“Announcement after this song.” Chenle says. The waiter walks in front of them and Chenle grabs two glasses of champagne. “Here.”
Jisung shakes his head. “I don't drink at their gigs.”
Chenle chuckles. “You write songs with Sungchan right?”
“How did you know?”
“Taro told me. They were grateful to have your presence with Sungchan. You know his band mates, the typical lyricism dumb people. He even told me The Rookies are nothing without Sungchan which I totally agree with. Look at them." Chenle says and raises his glass towards the stage direction. “People here flocked because of their songs which credits you too.”
Jisung laughs awkwardly, he's not used to being praised. “Nah, I just contributed a few words to the lyrics. It's still Sungchan's effort.” he says.
Chenle chuckles. “We all know how smitten he is for you. Almost all their songs are about you so I mean it. It credits you too. You're his muse, you know.” he drinks the champagne in one shot.
“One more?” Sungchan asks the moment they finish the last song in the set list. The audience yells, yes and definitely but Sungchan shakes his head.
“Sadly, we have no song left but we have an announcement.” he says and looks at Jisung again. Jisung smiles and raises his thumb.
“Before anything else, I want to thank my muse out there.” Sungchan says. The people roar.
Chenle pushes Jisung gently and raises his brow. “That must be you.” Jisung just looks away and looks at Sungchan.
“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you who brought many foreign feelings in me. I hope you know how dear you are to me. Just like what I told you 2 years ago… I don't just write lyrics, I bleed them for you.”
Jisung's eyes softens. He smiles at him and bits his bottom lip. He couldn't contain how happy he is hearing those words from him, from the person he loves the most.
“So… for the announcement.” Shohei says and looks at his bandmates. The members gather together. They count and reveal the announcement for this night.
“First full album this coming October!” they say in unison.
Jisung clap, everyone inside the bar claps. Some even shout, yell and whistle. Everyone is happy for them and it is a privilege for Jisung to be part of the band's success. He has been with them since the beginning.
“Stay tuned and hope to see you soon, hopefully in a bigger venue!” Sungchan says.
Sungchan finds him in the crowd. He removes the guitar from his body and rushes towards Jisung. People give way to Sungchan as they watch him approach the latter. Jisung walks closer to Sungchan to meet him halfway. Their bodies clash as they stare at each other's eyes.
“Proud of you.” Jisung whispers and reaches for Sungchan's cheeks. Sungchan smiles and moves closer to Jisung.
Jisung opens his mouth and without a warning, Sungchan closes the gap with his lips entering Jisung's. He didn't even notice people watching them but even when they do, it doesn't matter. The whole world should know he writes songs about him. And his muse is none other than the person he's kissing right now.
Sungchan parts from the kiss then he kisses Jisung's forehead. “I love you, baby.” he whispers in his ears.
Jisung chuckles. “I love you, loser.”